The LOLLIES Laugh Out Loud Book Awards 2017

The Lollies Book Awards were started by publisher Scholastic as a way to celebrate the best in funny books for children.

We were recently asked to take part in the blog tour for this year’s awards and enjoyed it so much we thought we’d review the shortlist highlighting our favourite funny moments as well as featuring the other blogs who took part. Enjoy!

Picture Books

Eat Your People by Lou Kuenzler, illustrated by David Wojtowycz and published by Orchard Books.

A hilarious twist on the fussy eating problem faced by so many families. Only this isn’t a normal family, they’re monsters, and the food in question… people! The monster parents try all the usual tricks to get Monty to eat but only the promise of Monty’s favourite pudding will tempt him to eat those sour people.

Childlike illustrations make for an appealing read and keep this slightly dark story lighthearted and fun. One that parents and children will be able to relate to, apart from the people eating bit we hope.

Best LOL moment: Monica, Monty’s big sister laughing so hard her drink comes out of her nose.

Read our interview with author Lou Kuenzler here.

Buy Eat Your People from Scholastic.

Oi Dog by Kes & Claire Gray, illustrated by Jim Field and published by Hodder Children’s Books.

The follow up to the hugely successful Oi Frog only this time Frog is in charge and he’s changing all the rules. All the animals must sit on something that rhymes with their name which last time ended badly for frog as you can see from the cover. How will he get his own back on that cat and what will he find to sit on if not a log?

Brilliantly silly rhymes and hilarious illustrations that are full of expression. A guaranteed crowd pleaser.

Best LOL moment: The declaration that “cheetahs will sit on fajitas” possibly one of the best rhymes we’ve read in a picture book.

Read an interview with illustrator Jim Field with fellow blogger Bookbairn.

Buy Oi Dog from Scholastic.

Danny McGee Drinks the Sea by Andy Stanton, illustrated by Neal Layton and published by Hodder Children’s Books.

Danny McGee boasts to his sister that he can drink the sea. She doesn’t believe him so he proves her wrong but he doesn’t stop at the sea and soon Danny is eating everything in his path, can anyone stop him?

A clever mix of illustrations and photographs with a single sound rhyming scheme make for an energetic read in this creative and brilliantly silly picture book.

Best LOL moment: Finding the author, Andy Stanton, inside Danny McGee’s stomach trying to write this book by candlelight.

Buy Danny McGee Drinks the Sea from Scholastic.

Read an interview with author Andy Stanton over on Childtastic Books.

The Prince of Pants by Alan MacDonald, illustrated by Sarah McIntyre and published by Scholastic.

Today is Prince Pip’s birthday and he can’t decide which pair of pants to wear from his huge collection. However, when he goes to look in his pants drawer he discovers that all his pants are gone. He searches the castle grounds asking everyone if they’ve seen his pants only to discover the best pants based birthday surprise ever!

Amazingly bright illustrations with the added bonus of glow in the dark pants, this is a great picture book for young children as they can spot jokes in the illustrations in the form of Prince Pip’s pants in ridiculous places.

Best LOL moment: Spotting pants in all sorts of silly places like on a teapot and being flown like a kite.

Read an interview with Alan MacDonald and Sarah McIntyre over on Along Came Poppy.

Buy the Prince of Pants from Scholastic.

Books for 6-8 years 

Thimble Monkey Superstar by Jon Blake, illustrated by Martin Chatterton and published by Firefly Press.

Jams lives with his mum and dad in a castle, only it isn’t actually a castle, it’s a bungalow. Jams’ dad likes to think it’s a castle, complete with moat and portcullis. That’s his Dad, living in his imagination. Jams feels pretty fed up and bored at home until one day his neighbours ask if they would mind taking care of their hamster. Except it isn’t a hamster, it’s a monkey called Thimble. Jams and Thimble soon become good friends but the same cannot be said for Jams’s dad who is determined to find any way possible to get rid of the monkey. Can Jams win his Dad round and how will Thimble prove himself and invaluable member of the family?

Jams has cerebral palsy, which is not a main focus in the story, and the book is an excellent example of how to bring diverse characters and disability into children’s literature.

Best LOL moment: Jams’s dad trying to remove a tarantula from his face with the help of a cricket bat and Thimble.

Read a Q&A with author Jon Blake on the Family Bookworms Wales blog here.

Buy Thimble Monkey Superstar from Scholastic.

Hamish and the Neverpeople by Danny Wallace, illustrated by Jamie Littler and published by Simon and Schuster.

In the second book from this series, Hamish finds himself on another adventure to save the world. It all starts with the prime minister who is acting very strange, much more so than usual anyway. Hamish heads to London and discovers the source of the threat to Earth in the alternate world of the Neverpeople.

Packed with brilliant characters who are brought to life with black line, comic book style illustrations this is a brilliantly funny book with a fabulously unique plot.

Best LOL moment: The explanation of how a new monarch is crowned because the last one got fed up so tagged someone else and then ran off and hid. Also, the constant struggle to spell turquoise correctly, or is it turqerwise, no terkwise…

Read an interview with Danny Wallace and Jamie Littler over on Book Monsters.

Buy the Hamish and the Neverpeople from Scholastic.

Future Ratboy and the Invasion of the Nom Noms by Jim Smith and published by Jelly Pie, Egmont.

Colin was just a normal boy until one day he was zapped by the evil Mr X whilst inside a wheelie bin that sent him millions of years into the future. Oh and this has also turned him into a hybrid boy/rat/TV. And now there are these strange hairy creatures appearing everywhere and biting everyone on the nose. Alongside his similarly unusual friends, Ratboy sets out to discover what’s happening. Are the hairy Nom Noms part of Mr X’s evil plans?

Written in a unique doodle book style this fast paced story is full of crazy happenings, unheard of gadgets from the future and disgusting food flavours.

Best LOL moment: This book is cover to cover LOL moments but we found it pretty hilarious when Ratboy became reunited with his wheelie bin (you know, the one he travelled to the future in). The bin was now working as a waiter and didn’t recognise him, even with Ratboy shouting “You’re my magic bin!” after it.

You can read a Q&A with author Jim Smith with the Kids of Readalot here.

Buy Future Ratboy and the Invasion of the Nom Noms from Scholastic.

Eddy Stone and the Epic Holiday Mash-Up by Simon Cherry and published by Usborne.

Having been packed off to his Gran’s for the summer holidays in a dull seaside town Eddy is fed up. That is until a pirate appears in the bath and after accidentally putting his boot through the kitchen ceiling they set off on a voyage for treasure. With a magical map and the strangest looking gang of shipmates they travel to strange and sometimes dangerous lands. Will they find the treasure and fix the ceiling? And just what, or who is that strange looking cow?

Best LOL moment: La resistance in the form of the feisty raisins of death and pretty much everything they say, even funnier when read out loud in a squeaky French accent.

Read the post from Get Kids into Books about this book as part of the Lollies blog tour here.

Buy Eddy Stone and the Epic Holiday Mash-Up from Scholastic.

Books for 9-13 years

The Best Medicine by Christine Hamill and published by Little Island Books.

Philip Wright is an aspiring comedian, he likes nothing better than to make people laugh, especially his mum. Although just recently his mum hasn’t been up to laughing much. He soon discovers the reason, his mum has breast cancer. Philip deals with this in the only way he knows how, with comedy of course. Simultaneously struggling with girl, bully and friend problems Philip confides in his hero, Harry Hill as a sort of one-sided pen pal.

A serious subject tackled with heartwarming sensitivity and humour. A sophisticated and hilarious book for older readers.

Best LOL moment: Philip is completely mortified that the cancer his mum has is breast cancer, “Now everyone will be saying the word ‘breast’ all the time as if it were some ordinary everyday word like ‘teapot’…. What about toe cancer or ear cancer?”

Read about Christine Hamill’s favourite funny books over on Book Lover Jo’s blog here.

Buy The Best Medicine from Scholastic.

I Don’t Like Poetry by Joshua Seigal and published by Bloomsbury.

Flying the flag for funny poems is this instantly likeable offering from poet Joshua Seigal. With subjects ranging from annoying siblings and missing bottoms to canine confidants and the worst humiliation of all – calling a random woman mum.

A brilliant mix of poetic styles and sharp humour Joshua Seigal plays with language expertly, perfect if you like poetry and even if you don’t.

Best LOL moment: The sad but also very funny plight of the person who has lost their bottom in My Bottom’s Gone Missing. Even their parents have no sympathy for them:

They said to me firmly,

“Stop being a fool.

It’s only a bottom.

Get ready for school”

Read an interview with Joshua Seigal over on Story Snug.

Buy I don’t like poetry from Scholastic.

AniMalcolm by David Baddiel, illustrated by Jim Field and published by Harper Collins.

Malcolm comes from a family of animal lovers, they live and breath them, have tons of pets and visit the zoo every week. The only probelm is Malcolm doesn’t like them, not one bit. In fact he really dislikes animals. However, during his school residential to a farm Malcolm meets a goat who changes everything and over the next few days Malcolm gets closer to the animal world than he ever thought possible or ever wanted to.

Baddiel’s characterisations of the many different animals are brilliant, with an effortless conversational tone this is perfectly pitched comedy for this age group.

Best LOL moment: The incredibly deep conversations between Malcolm and the two pigs Mabel and Ludwig who is a very wise pig indeed.

Read Tales of Yesterday’s spotlight on AniMalcolm as part of the Lollies blog tour here.

Buy AniMalcolm from Scholastic.

My Gym Teacher is an Alien Overlord by David Solomons, illustrated by Lauren Ellen Anderson with typography by Rob Biddulph and published by Nosy Crow.

In this follow up to the award winning My Brother is a Superhero, Luke is living in the shadow of his brother’s superpowers. Zack (otherwise known as Star Lad) is so busy zooming off to save the world along with their friend Lara (also known as Dark Flutter) Luke is the only one who notices that their gym teacher has been possessed by an alien super race intent on destroying Earth. Will Luke be able to convince his friends of the dangers of their gym teacher and how can he possibly save the world as a regular, no-superpower boy?

Friendships and tricky emotions are tackled with both humour and sensitivity in equal measure in this clever and entertaining read.

Best LOL moment: Has to go to Luke’s straight talking and serious friend Serge who is unintentionally hilarious.

Read an exclusive blog post from David Solomons on writing funny books over on Library Girl and Book Boy’s blog.

Buy My Gym Teacher is an Alien Overlord from Scholastic.

It’s a tough line up to choose from but once you have be sure to head over to the Scholastic website to cast your votes, you have until December the 8th.

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